Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1887-10-14
NIHILIST HARTMAN.
THE RUSSIAN REFUGEE LIVING NEAR
THE NEW YORK POSTOFFIcE.

Truths OF kussia.The Courts OF the
Cars Empire-Terrors of q Central"
Prison.
Leo Hartman, the Nihilist, who was
charged with killing Alexander ii, of All the
Russias, ON whose head the Russian govern
ment put a great price, who was imprisoned
by France at the instance of Russia, who was
shielded by England and afterwards came
near being handed over to Russian vengeance
by the then secretary Of state, James G.
Blaine, who has been for years under the sur
Vigilance of Russian detectives, was found a
few days ago by a reporter in rather small
room of an old fashioned house scarcely a
stones throw from The World office.
Seated in Hartmans workshop, surrounded
by evidences of his genius, it seemed almost
incredible that the man telling the story of his
country's wrongs could be he who was the
central figure of the civilized world a few
years ago.
"Americans, with the utmost liberty Of
press, speech and assemblage, and with free
ballot cannot possibly conceive of the con-
dition of Russia to-day" said Leo Hartman.
"They cannot imagine how the will of one
man, however distorted his mind can be the
law, to be executed by every official, who
represents only that will. By the greatest
stretch of the imagination Americans cannot
understand how it can be a capital offense to
criticise the words or acts of a car Yet it
is so i'll Russia, where men are sent to Siberia
for talking disrespectfully to policeman"
"That cannot be possible. You are exagger-
atingl" exclaimed the reporter.
ut is true, every word. have heard peo-
pie here denounce the police; but they do not
know what police tyranny means. In Russia
the municipalities do not appoint the police.
| 1t is the car They are his officers, and are
above the law, owing to no one an account
but him. These are the open police, and al
though they are tyrants and to be dreaded
they are not to be compared to the political
detectives and gems d'armes of the ministry
of the interior
"They were known at one time as the third
section Of the imperial chancellory. The
name became such terror, even in that
country of terrorism, that the car was
forced to pretend to abolish it, 1t still exists
as a special department of the interior.
Those who compose it are independent of all
law. Without form of law they have power
to search any house and arrest all its inmates
on suspicion. Those arrested never know on
what charge they are held. They have no
trial, but are sent to Siberia, to prison or to
the scaffold as may seem best to the depart
ment. There is no appeal possible, for no
court has any jurisdiction over political
If person is sent to Siberia he is an admin
istrative exile, and can never return except
by consent of the third section AS said, it
is only necessary to be suspected in order to
be arrested, and if the name of another per-
son is found on the suspect he or she too must
suffer"
"But are there no courts in Russias"
Certainly there are, and a jury system,
too; but they are for NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
thieves, etc. l may say, in passing, that
there is no capital punishment in Russia ex-
cept for political offenses. In the territorial
prison iE which | spent nine months, in
Ekaterinodar, there were men who had COM
mitted from ten to thirty murders and high
way robberies. They were exiled, while a
landlord, owning thousands of acres of land,
was hanged because he gave money to propa-
| gate republicanism. That was before the
terrorist movement began. When promi.
nent man is arrested, a nobleman or an of
fetal, for political offense, and it cannot be
hidden he is taken before a court. But what
a COURT For such cases the judges are APP
pointed by the ministry of justice or war
| There is no jury. The accused Is not per
mitted to have a lawyer, except, sometimes
an army officer is detailed for that duty by
the ministry. | need not say that l never
knew or heard of a case in which prisoner
before such court ever regained his free
dom. To be even suspected is to be doomed
For if the judge could not find the prisoner
guilty the third section exiled him anyway
"These men of whom you speak, NEAR
the prisoners, are they all Nihilists?"
"Not by any means. AS l told you MAJ
has only to express an opinion contrary t.
that of policeman, detective or some Off
cial to secure his arrest and exile What d.
you think OF its being an offense, punishabl,
with exile. to read any work written by Her
bert Spencer, Professor Huxley, Darwin
John Stuart Mills 'Utilitarianism,' 'Emanci
patton of Women or Political Economy
Robert Owens Moral Government or sucl
works. Those sent to Siberia are not Mill
lists or Terrorists. The Terrorists are Away
executed or die in prison."
"Are the Nihilists very numerous now il
Russia!"
"More numerous than ever and more de
faint than when | was in Russia. Yol
noticed, probably, that those arrested on tn
last attempt to execute the car offered no re
sistance nor did they try to hide their pur
pose. But in Russia they are not called Mill
isls-lhey oeioHS W uie party Oh the VIII o
the People, and the Extremists are known a
Active Terrorists. Not one of my coadju
tors is alive today; but as fast as they fal
their places are filled by others. In the part,
there are representatives of every class in tn
community and every grade of official, iron
the priest and noble to the peasant Origin
ally the party believed merely i'll propagatin
the necessity for republican form O
government, and but for the terrorism of tn
car it would have remained so until to-day
We ask that national assembly be called t
decide the form of government for Russia
For agitating this question our people wer
hanged or incarcerated in central prisons
which was worse. These central prisons ar
under the direct control of the central govern
ment and distinct from territorial prisons
The walls of the cells are var
wide, with vaulted ceilings. The floor
are thickly matted, so are the corridors out
side. Light is admitted from small win
dow in the roof Food is supplied on slidin
table from the outside. A hole the size O
a dollar in the massive door of the cell per